World Cup 2014: Best XI of Day 1 with Neymar, Oscar and Ivica Olic

The opening day of the 2014 FIFA World Cup has seen Brazil beat Croatia by a 3-1 scoreline, with national hero Neymar netting two of the goals.

Throughout the World Cup we'll be running a day-by-day Best XI, and though we've only got one match to choose our stars from on this occasion, we'll quickly pick up the pace and have six or eight teams fighting for a spot in our side.

Here are the best performers from the opening night, with no prizes for guessing that the two-goal forward is one of the star names involved.

GK: Julio Cesar, BRZ

The goalkeeper could have gone to either player right up until the final moments; Julio Cesar had made a spill and Stipe Pletikosa should have saved Neymar's penalty.

Then came a one-minute spell which shaped the outcome of the match, very late on, and thus our goalkeeping selection was made too.

Cesar pulled off a terrific save low to his right, preventing Croatia from equalising at 2-2, before Brazil went straight up the other end and scored, beating Pletikosa low to his right from some distance, where again he should have done better.

That's the difference between a good goalkeeper and an average one—a result on the opening day at the World Cup.

RB: Darijo Srna, CRO

Kirsty Wigglesworth/Associated Press

Croatia right-back and captain Darijo Srna was a solid presence in defence, preventing Hulk from having any real kind of impact at all and putting in some big challenges to break up Brazil's attacking moves down their left flank.

He also got forward a few times, supporting rather than driving on into the attacking third, and twice his set piece delivery from the channels caused a half-chance for his side.

LB: Marcelo, BRZ

Shuji Kajiyama/Associated Press

Marcelo scored an own goal after only 10 minutes of the match, but recovered from that to be a good option for his team at both ends of the pitch.

In the first half he was more concerned with breaking forward into space, looking to link up with Hulk and trying to find passes into the final third. After the break he was more defensively worked, with Croatia enjoying more possession, but stood up to the task well and was the more impressive of Brazil's full-backs.

CM: Luka Modric, CRO

Warren Little/Getty Images

Luka Modric operated as one of the two central midfield players for Croatia and, though not as impressive in the early stages as his partner Ivan Rakitic, over the course of the game he put in a more reliable and consistent display.

His ball use was quietly effective, he held his position and worked the midfield spaces well off the ball and also made a few hefty challenges in the middle in lieu of a true holding player.

Croatia dominated possession more after the break, with Modric recycling deep and looking to support his attacking team-mates, but wasn't really a threat in the final third himself.

CF: Neymar, BRZ

Shuji Kajiyama/Associated Press

Neymar was always going to have a big impact on the opening day and so it proved, with him scoring the first goal of the tournament for Brazil and having a generally positive impact on play for most of the game.

A few of his final passes were a little off target but he dribbled past players well, always looked to be adventurous when receiving the ball at his feet and took up good positions in space behind the Croatian midfield line.